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| Creating Specialized Learning Materials | ||||||||
<< back to Creating Specialized Learning Materials Choosing the Right Text Book to Support Learning Choosing the best textbook for our students can be difficult. Some of the most heated discussions that take place in many college departments revolve around textbook selection. Using a standard textbook evaluation form designed by the department can give the department confidence that the decision is made in an objective fashion taking into account not just the subject content of the text but also the design features that scaffold the learning process. Readability. This article from Chris and Keith Johnson at Timetabler provides an excellent introduction to the concept of readability, the most essential attribute of any college textbook. It discusses the factors that affect readability as well as a number of tools that can be used to access the readability of a text. Readability tests. Popular readability tests that college faculty can use include the TheFlesch-Kincaid_Readability_Test, the Gunning Fog Index, and the Fry Readability Graph. How to Read a College Text is an interesting and very practical article by Dr. John Weber, English Professor at Ocean County College in New Jersey. Dr. Weber suggests a number of strategies to turn reading from a passive activity into an active activity. A Sample Textbook Evaluation Form: This evaluation form (see particularly the page on evaluation criteria) may give you ideas for developing your own textbook evaluation form.
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